'"Typically when you create chances you get one going one way and the other team's going to get one going the other way," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "They put theirs in, we didn't. . . . We got a point but I think we gave one away."'

'"I knew things were bad in Buffalo, but I didn't think they'd get to the state they are right now," Lever said. "They say the strength of an organization starts at the top, and right now it's just not there. That's the unfortunate thing."'

'Rallying from an one-goal deficit in the third period for their 16th victory this season when their opponent scores first, the Blues reached 66 points heading into the All-Star break and 29 games remaining on their schedule.'

'The Blues outshot the Sabres 12-5 in the second period, increasing their physical play as the period went on. But they were unable to get anything past Sabres goalie Martin Biron, who turned aside 18 shots in the first 40 minutes.'

'"He's the guy that we look to in all situations, from penalty-killing to power play," commented Ruff. "I think any team that's going to have success, their big guys have to be producing on almost a nightly basis."'

'The Sabres creditors want the new buyer to pay for past debt. Golisano thinks otherwise. Their idea is while we have all these back debts and all these back liabilities we want the new buyer to absorb them. Well if the new buyer submits an offer that is not encompassing of those, so be it. They have three options. They can counter our offer, they can take our offer, they can ignore us…"'

'The main sticking point in Adelphia's negotiations with Hamister and Berman is believed to focus on the prospective owners' request that $7 million of their offer to be used to pay Sabres' unsecured creditors.'

‘”We had our chance going down the ice,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said of the overtime session. “They had a guy that jumped on the ice 30 seconds too early. It should’ve been called but wasn’t, which was utter crap. I look at it as we lost the point. We got a point, but I think we gave a point away.”‘

'"He really wasn't feeling that well," coach Lindy Ruff said. "He saw the doctors the other night and the doctors saw him again the next day, and initially we thought maybe just one game, but it looks like the Tuesday game also."'

'With the latest deadline now only four days away for Hamister to complete an agreement to buy the Sabres, neither that deal nor Hamister's request for government aid seems close to being resolved, several sources said Wednesday. And Hamister has admitted his increasing concerns about the process.'